Well, as expected, FOX decided to cancel yet another good Sci-Fi show. No specific reason was given. People involved with the show said it made money so the only valid reason left is that it didn't make ENOUGH money to satisfy the greedy network execs. It is a known fact that Terra Nova is an expensive show to make. Dinosaur CGI isn't cheap. Especially after Jurassic Park set the DinoCGI bar way up into the stratosphere. In addition to the Dinosaurs the citizens of Terra Nova took their high tech gadgets with them. Holographic heads-up displays and interfaces in all the labs makes just panning through Medical a Post-Production expense heavy scene. For all the expense incurred on those fronts they definitely saved money elsewhere. Some of the weapons used in the show are just Nerf guns painted to look real. The vehicles were seriously low-tech looking and at first glance looked more like something you'd throw together for a Mad Max reunion. They didn't look bad, just not "expensive" so I'm filing them under the "didn't cost too much" category. Besides the standard wardrobe for the citizens the military garb is also recycled from other shows and very low tech.
Taking all of this into account you end up with the conclusion that if they could reduce DinoCGI and holographic heads-up displays and interfaces then the cost of the show could also be reduced. The writers, unknowingly, gave us the answer with the cumulation of Season One's main plotline. .
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SPOILER ALERT: If you've not watched the show and plan to do so you might want to stop reading now.
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The writers unknowingly solved part of the "expensive to make" problem at the end of the season. They blew up the "bridge". The link between the Future and the Past was destroyed. This means no more pilgrimages, no more tech, no more supplies, no more anything, period. The colonist are officially on their own. They are now in the ultimate situation of survival. They have to conserve at all cost. This would naturally mean an immediate cease and desist on using any technology that had an expendable power source. Energy consumption would need to be reduced to maximize the lifetime of the devices in question. There are no replacements coming. Ever.
So how does this make the show cheaper? Simple. No more expensive panning shots in Medical. They used all their tech every day because they had it. As shown in the episode "Nightfall" (with the pulse that wiped out the technology chips) they could revert to Frontier Medicine except for live threatening situations and even then it doesn't need to be on camera for long. The focus of the story could shift to survival. Less indoor time and more outdoor time. Less high-tech, more frontier medicine based on what they studied or ran test on "the night before" aka "off camera".
But what about the DinoCGI problem? That too is simple. Less dinos. As we've already seen in episodes they can present the threat of a dino without actually showing it. Save any DinoCGI for major plot line issues or cliffhangers. Just use sound effects to set the mood when necessary and just elude to the fact that the dinos are there. The teased plot for Season Two is "WTF is in the Badlands and WhyTF did the bad guys make a bee line for it when they lost". Besides a little dino interaction randomly for effect, a good portion of Season Two could center around the tracking of the bad guys and the quest for what is in the Badlands.
With these simple modifications to production the show could save a good bit of money which would allow another network to save the show.
Another cost saving idea is shorter seasons. Terra Nova Season One was only 13 episodes long with the first and last being 2 parters. TV Shows don't have to shoot for 20 episodes any longer. Focus on a quality story and do shorter seasons and you have a good model for success. Do MORE shows of 10-12 episodes like this and instead of trying to glue people to the TV for a single 20 episode season. A network can gain fans and viewers by having shorter shows that survive rather than longer, more expensive seasons that end up getting cancelled.
I hope another network does decide to pick up Terra Nova. This was one of the shows we watched every week as a family. We all loved it even with the critiques others have thrown at it. Logan cried when he found out it got cancelled. For this reason alone, if I ever meet a Fox Network Exec, I will punch them in the throat. I would say I'd kick him in the nuts but those are already reserved for canceling Firefly and I aim to misbehave should the situation every present itself ;)
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